Brit is arrested after fatal mid-air collision with another paraglider which sent both men crashing onto a hotel roof in Turkey
- Thomas Aitken, 45, was reportedly detained by police after the fatal collision
- They both crashed and fell onto a hotel roof before landing on the edge of a pool
A British paraglider has been arrested in Turkey after a fatal mid-air collision with another skydiver which sent both men plummeting onto a hotel roof.
Thomas Aitken, 45, is said to have been detained by police after 30-year-old Orkut Baysal died following their mid-air disaster.
The horror crash amid windy conditions happened in Turkey’s Fethiye district, in the province of Mugla, on Sunday, April 30.
Baysal, who was an athlete is the Turkish national paragliding team, had jumped from a height of over a mile (1,700) above sea level when the disaster struck, local reports said.
He had jumped with fellow Turkish national paraglider Andac Ünsal, 45, as part of a tandem flight at the same time that Aitken was carrying out a solo jump.
During the professional paragliders’ descent, Baysal and Aitken collided, with both skydivers crashing into a hotel roof before landing on the edge of the resort’s swimming pool.
Some reports in Turkish media say that the two parachutes became entangled in the collision just 65 feet (around 20 metres) off the ground.
Local police and medics were sent to the crash site, with the injured paragliders taken to the Fethiye State Hospital for treatment.
But Baysal died from multiple injuries inflicted from the horror mid-air disaster. His body has since been taken to the morgue at the state hospital
Both Aitken and Ünsal were reportedly injured, but were not in life-threatening conditions.
It is understood Aitken was subsequently detained in police custody pending the outcome of the investigation.
Turkish police are investigating the cause of the collision and whether there was any potential negligence on behalf of those involved.
The deadly incident has reportedly raised questions regarding safety regulations and practices in the paragliding community.
The investigation is ongoing.
This is a developing news story. More to follow…
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